Braided article and method of making same



7 1938- J. DE FRANCEsCO 2,137,770

BRAIDED ARTICLE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME F iled Nov. 24, 1957 Patented Nov. 22, 1938 PATENT OFFICE BRAIDED ARTICLE AND METHOD OF MAK- ING SAME

Joseph De Francesco, St. Louis, Mo.

Application November 24, 1937, Serial No. 176,313

10 Claims.

This invention relates to braided articles and the method of making the same.

Heretofore, in making braided articles, such as shoe trimmings or belts, it was necessary to form the article of three or more strips which were braided together and. then had their respective ends secured to suitable end pieces.

Among the main objects of the inventionis the provision of a braided article consisting of braided strips, the ends of which are formed integral with the terminal pieces.

Another object of the invention is to provide a single piece braided article comprising terminal portions and an intermediate portion, the latter being cut longitudinally to provide a plurality of parallel endless strips which can be braided together.

Another object of the invienton is to provide a shoe trimming having an intermediate portion consisting of a plurality of strips braided together and formed integral at their ends with the respective end portions of said trimming.

Another object of the invention is to provide a braided belt consisting of a plurality of braided strips, the ends of each strip being formed integral with the respective ends of said belt.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel method of making a braided article out of a single piece of material.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a single piece of leather or other suitable material, to slit the intermediate portion thereof longitudinally to provide a plurality of strips, the ends of each of which are formed integral with the end portions thereof, and then braiding said strips together.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a side view of a shoe having several braided pieces.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of same.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of a belt made in accordance with my invention.

Figure 4 is a view of an article to be braided.

Figures 5 and 6 show successive steps in the braiding operation.

Figure 7 shows the completed braided article.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawing, l0 indicates a ladys shoe or sandal having a heel portion ll provided with a braided strip I2 and having a plurality of transversely extending spacedapart portions M which form the upper of the shoe.

The belt shown in Figure 3 consists of a buckle end I5, an intermediate portion l6, and a perforate end ll.

In making a braided article to be used, for instance, as one of the pieces I4 of a shoe, the material, such as leather, is cut to the approximate shape shown at H3 in Figure 4, and the intermediate portion lBa is cut short of the terminal pieces or end portions I827 and I to form a plurality of longitudinally disposed parallel slits IS. The strips A, B and C thus formed are integral at their respective ends with the terminal pieces i811 and I80.

To braid the article, one of the terminal or end portions, such as Nib, is held stationary, preferably by tacking it to a table, and the strips A, B and C are then braided in the usual manner. When the step illustrated in Figure 5 is reached, righthand strip C is located on the left-, hand side and is separated sufficiently from the other strips to provide an opening X, through which the end I80 is passed downwardly and then brought out longitudinally.

The braiding operation is now continued until the step illustrated in Figure 6 is reached, whereby strip C, which is now located on the righthand side, is again separated from the other strips to form an opening Z through which the end piece I80 is again passed downwardly and longitudinally outward.

For comparatively short pieces, such as those shown in Figures 5' to 7, only two of the looping operations of end [80 are necessary. In a longer piece, such as the braided strips [2, or the belt Hi, the free end I80 is looped or threaded a correspondingly larger number of times.

It will be noted that the free end lBo is passed or looped through the opening in the braided portion every time the right hand strip C is brought outwardly on either side of the article and that the openings X or Z are formed in every instance by spacing or pulling the strip C ends with the terminal or end portions of the article, no sewing operation is required, thereby providing an article which is stronger in construction and better in appearance.

The braided article can be used as ornaments for hats, coats, dresses and for various other purposes.

It can be made of any width or length and of various materials. The method of braiding is simple and can be easily performed.

I am aware that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms than those herein shown and described without departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

I claim:

1. A single piece braided article comprising terminal portions and an intermediate portion, the latter being formed in a plurality of parallel strips formed integral with said terminal portions and adapted to be braided together.

2. A single piece braided article comprising terminal portions and an intermediate portion, said intermediate portion being cut into a plurality of parallel strips braided together and integral with said terminal portions.

3. A shoe trimming comprising a single piece of material having its intermediate portion cut longitudinally short of the end portions thereof into a plurality of parallel strips which are braided together and are integral with said end portions.

4. A braided belt comprising a single piece of material having its intermediate portion cut longitudinally short of the end portions thereof 1 into a plurality of parallel strips which are integral with said end-portions and are braided together.

5. A braided article comprising a single piece of material having its intermediate portion cut longitudinally short of the end portions thereof to provide a plurality of parallel strips formed integral with said end portions and braided together.

6. The method of making a braided shoe trimming which consists in forming an elongated single piece member of suitable material, cutting the intermediate portions thereof into a plurality of endless parallel strips integral with the terminal portions of said member, and braiding said strips together.

'7. The method of making a braided shoe trimming which consists in forming an elongated single piece member of suitable material, cutting the intermediate portion thereof into a plurality of endless parallel strips integral with the terminal portions of said member, braiding said strips together, and then passing one of the end portions at regular intervals through an opening formed by spacing one of said strips laterally from the other strips.

8. The method of making a braided article which comprises slitting the intermediate portion of a piece of material longitudinally at a plurality of spaced points to provide a plurality of parallel strips integral with the terminal portions of said piece, braiding said strips together, and passing one end of said article at regular intervals through an opening formed by spacing a predetermined strip laterally from the other strips.

9. A shoe trimming comprising a single piece of material formed with a plurality of parallel longitudinal slits to provide a plurality of strips integral with the end portions of said piece, said strips being adapted to be braided together.

10; The method of making a braided article which comprises cutting the intermediate portion of a piece of material to provide a plurality of parallel strips, said strips being formed integral with the terminal portions of said member, holding one end of said material stationary, braiding said strips together, and then passing the other end of said material at regular intervals through an opening formed by the spacing of a predetermined strip from the other strips.

JOSEPH DE FRANCESCO. 

